Rickie nearly jumped out of his skin, almost dropping the books in his hands. His father stood in the doorway, looking at him with concern. He turned back to his bag, sucking in a shaking breath. "I'm fine Dad."

"You sure? I mean, you haven't been sleeping well-"

"I'm fine. Really." Rickie interrupted, slinging the backpack over his shoulder. As he headed out into the hall, he brushed past his dad, briefly touching his shoulder. "I'm going to be late for school."

Still, Mr. Stone looked concerned, his doubts far from put to rest at his son's hasty answers. "Why don't I drive you then?"

Normally Rickie would drive himself, but his car had broken down unexpectedly a few days before. Then again, it wasn't that surprising. His car was an piece of junk so old it was surprising the thing still ran at all. And while the thought of being driven was tempting compared to the fifteen minute walk to the school, he wasn't sure he'd be able to handle even a short ride with his father. Not right now. "I can walk Dad."

"Rickie, really, it wouldn't be a pro-"

"Dad. I'm fine. It's just a couple of nightmares; I'm not gonna break down in the middle of the street." Rickie forced a smile, giving his father a quick hug before rushing out the door before he could push the issue anymore.

Because Mr. Stone had right to worry about his son. It was more than a couple of lousy nightmares; they were worse than nightmares actually. There was the insomnia and confusion, sleep paralysis and the worst of all - blackouts. The were infrequent but had occurred often enough that he knew it wasn't just exhaustion. Rickie didn't know what to do, fearful of being thought as crazy, of being committed to one of those creepy mental hospitals or something. So he was trying his best to keep it to himself. He didn't know what was going on, and he didn't want to tell anyone until he at least had some idea.

Little did Rickie know, he had a passenger, a shadowed essence hiding behind the teenager's scattered thoughts.

Era sighed, staring down at the words on the pages but not having the patience to actually read them. She had already read through the same chapters six times already. But still, she hadn't had enough time to truly figure out what was going on. She didn't like being caught staring in class, but she was so certain that something was off about some of the students in this school that she couldn't help it. She didn't like having to ask questions to people she didn't know, but when they stood out it was difficult not to. Especially since she had persistent faith in supernatural beings.
Yet, there were some questions that just couldn't be asked. A great example of one of these questions was, "Do you think you are possessed?" Era had personal experience with that question, enough to say with confidence that it didn't end well. Ever. But she had to know, and decided to figure it out herself instead of asking. So there she sat, in the library, reading chapter after chapter of symptoms, signs and effects of possession. When was that kid going to finally get to school?
A few exasperated and frustrated sighs later, she put down the book and went to find another one.

It took a lot less time to get to the school than Rickie had first thought, and he got there with a surprisingly large amount of time to spare. After a moment of consideration, he made his way to the library. Maybe he could read up on mental illnesses? He headed through the school then into the library, making headway towards the non-fiction section, all the while unaware of the shadowy presence of the demon shifting in the back of his head.

Viaxar was stuck within the mind of the boy. Without a body, he was used to the everyday possession of human beings, yet this time was different. Despite Rickie's thin frame and pale skin, he had an extraordinarily strong mind that he found slippery to hold on to. Even then though, he would have normally been able to squash the human's mind within a couple of days. Compared to the mind of a demon, even the strongest human mind was weak in comparison. But then of course, why couldn't he just leave?

Well, he was stuck. It was something that had never happened before. And something that also gave him further proof it was all to do with his punishment. He had thought banishment from Hell was enough, but no. His dear father had to do worse. Now he was trapped in this pathetic excuse for a human with no way out and no way to gain total control. Now that they were in the library, it sparked an idea. Research. Rickie sought after mental illness, thinking he was crazy, Viaxar had a better plan.

Rickie had just reached the right shelf, when Viaxar took control. With just one blink of the eyes, Viaxar swept through and Rickie stumbled a little, knocking his knee on the shelf.

"Ah. Better." Viaxar mumbled, rolling his head from shoulder to shoulder as the body adjusted and Rickie's subconscious hid his poor mind from the truth. Viaxar knew that once Rickie learned of the creature that lived in his head, the boy would no longer have the black outs, or the insomnia. The night terrors would still occur - side effect of an unholy being in your mind - but would occur less frequently. But for the moment, the human remained ignorant and Viaxar enjoyed the game of hide and seek.

He made his way over to the demon section, and pulled out the nearest book, hoping it would be bullshit, like some human myths were.

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